One of the first festivals I attended as a student at the International University of Japan was the Hakkaisan Firewalking Festival. For more than 200 years, this festival is held twice a year, with the fall event scheduled on October 20th of each year. The highlight of the day features Shinto acolytes, local devotees, and festival goers walking barefoot across a path of hot coals made from burned cedar trees as a form of prayer for family health and prosperity. The festival is celebrated at the base of the sacred mountain Hakkaisan in the town of Minamiuonuma in Niigata Prefecture. A skit-like ceremony is done as the sacred flame is … Continue reading Hakkaisan Fire walking Festival